State of California Archives: on Technology

Neel Kashkari:
Day one, high-speed rail train is dead

Toward the end of the debate, one of the moderators--a local radio talk show host often aligned with conservative causes--asked the candidates, "If elected, will both of you guys promise to throw your body in front of the high-speed train?"

Kashkari
replied instantly, eager to highlight his steadfast opposition to California's high-speed rail project in front of a conservative audience: "Absolutely. Day one, that train is dead."

One big question now is whether, despite spending billions already,
the project will ever be completed. Another is whether high-speed rail is the issue that can rejuvenate California's moribund Republican Party. For his part, Brown continues to embrace the undertaking, which has faced a series of legal, financial, and
practical hurdles that have driven up costs and delayed construction for years. Even news that some members of his own party have abandoned the project hasn't dimmed Brown's unyielding optimism.

While California had recovered from an epic fiscal hole and now showed a healthy surplus, Brown insisted that now was not the time to return to what he considered profligate overspending.

But there is one project Brown has decided not to save for the
future: building the nation's first high-speed rail line, one of the largest infrastructure projects in U.S. history, with an estimated price tag of $68 billion--if not higher. Shovels are poised to hit the ground this year on the first section of track,
the latest advance in Brown's 32-year quest (he signed the first bill authorizing a study of high-speed rail in 1982) to erect something he believes befits the image of California as a "land of dreams."

"We aren't all Twitter-holics that have to have
instant gratification after 140 characters," Brown said. "We can take a few years and build for the future, and that's my sense here, that I'm coming back to be governor after all these years. It's been on my list for a long time."

Jerry Brown plans to propose spending millions of dollars in fees paid by carbon producers to aid the state's controversial high-speed rail project. The proposal--and the prospect of additional funding from the state's cap-and-trade program in future
years--could provide a significant lift to a $68 billion rail project.

Though the state has acquired $3.4 billion in federal funding to start construction of the rail project in the Central Valley, legal challenges have left state bond funding in
question. Brown has made high-speed rail a priority, and he suggested two years ago that cap-and-trade revenue, which is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, would be a future source of funding for the project.

But the use of cap-and-trade
money for high-speed rail could be problematic. While the rail project could eventually help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, benefits would not be seen until after 2020, the year by which California is seeking to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Jerry Brown:
I signed high speed rail in 1982; finally done in 2013

In the years following World War II, California embarked on a vast program to build highway, bridges and roads. Most were constructed before we knew about climate change and the lethal effects of dirty air. We now expect more.

Last year, you
authorized another big project: High Speed Rail. Electrified trains are part of the future. China already has 5000 miles of high speed rail and intends to double that. Spain has 1600 miles and is building more. More than a dozen other countries have
their own successful high speed rail systems.

The first phase constructs 30 miles of tunnels and bridges [in the] Tehachapi Mountains . Then we will build another 33 miles of tunnels and bridges before we get the train to its destination at
Union Station in the heart of Los Angeles.

It has taken great perseverance to get us this far. I signed the original high speed rail Authority in 1982--over 30 years ago. In 2013, we will finally break ground and start construction.

Source: 2013 State of the State address to California Legislature
Jan 24, 2013

California's high-speed rail project will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, linking California's population centers and avoiding the huge problems of massive airport and highway expansion.
The High-Speed Rail Authority's business plan is solid and lays the foundation for a 21st century transportation system.

When we get our budget in balance, California will be in a strong position to take advantage of its many assets and its strategic location on the Pacific Rim. As the countries of Asia and south of our border continue to thrive and expand their trade, our
state will play a leading role, as it always has, and reap unimagined benefits. We have the inventors, the dreamers, the entrepreneurs, the venture capitalists and a vast array of physical, intellectual and political assets.

When I first came to
Sacramento, Apple had not yet invented their personal computer. There was no wind generated electricity, and we didn't have the nation's most advanced appliance efficiency standards. Of course, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Twitter did not exist--not even
in someone's imagination. California's economy has grown from less than $200 billion dollars when first I came to this rostrum to now over $2 trillion expected this year. California has been on the move--a marvel, even a miracle and some kind of gift.

Source: 2011 California State of the State Address
Jan 31, 2011

Carly Fiorina:
Post federal budgets on Internet for public comment

Instead of further burdening our economy by adding new taxes, Carly believes our top priority should be finding out how our money is being spent and making sure that we're maximizing every taxpayer dollar. That means posting bills and
federal budgets on the Internet so that they're available for everyone to not only see, but also comment on before they become law. And it means eliminating the some $500 billion in well-documented fraud, waste and abuse in the system.

Bill Jones:
Championed updating water supply systems

Jones knows that the decline of capital investments in critical public facilities helped lead to the electrical shortages under Gov. Davis, overcrowding on highways, and the pending water shortages faced by California’s growing population and economy.
Jones has championed updating 1950s-era water supply systems. He has fought to reduce the trial lawyer challenges and bureaucratic delays that have stalled the public investments.